Valkyrie Profile: Aelia
by Chipmunk Overlords
Summary: An old Einherjar is chosen to gather new warriors in preparation for a battle with Hel, the Queen of Niflheim.
1. Chapter 1: The New Valkyrie

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* * *

Arngrim held his hands up in surrender for the third time. Aelia had him pinned, her spear at his throat.

"Want to try again?"

Arngrim scowled. "You win…this time," he said gruffly. She smiled and let him up. Mystina snorted. Jelanda laughed, and stood up, brushed her dress off, and returned to his side. He patted her head. "What're you laughing at?"

"You," she said, "getting your butt kicked by a girl."

Aelia smiled proudly. "He never could beat me. Seven-hundred and fifty years haven't changed a thing." She stuck her spear in the ground and lay down in the grass, staring at the clouds. A gentle breeze blew through the valley, and weeping lily pollen drifted through the air. Arngrim took a seat next to her. Mystina sat down in his lap; she looked up at Jelanda and smirked. Jelanda scowled.

"Something the matter, princess?" Mystina asked.

"You bet something's wrong!" Jelanda snapped. "I _demand_ that you remove yourself from his lap!"

Aelia sighed as the two got into an argument. _I wonder if I should feel bad for him. _She rolled over and lay on her stomach, toying with a blade of grass. One of the girls tripped over her legs. She looked over her shoulder. It was Mystina. Jelanda had plopped down regally in Arngrim's lap, smoothing her dress out. Arngrim rubbed his forehead.

Aelia shook her head and laughed. "Having fun yet?"

"Of course," he said. "I have so many beautiful girls trying to sit in my lap."

Jelanda turned around and smacked him.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

"_I _ought to be the only girl you consider beautiful, you dog!"

"But Jelanda—"

"Be silent before you make me angrier," she said, leaning her head against his chest and smiling smugly at Mystina. Mystina stood, making a point of letting her underpants show. Aelia rolled her eyes. Jelanda growled.

"Jealous, Princess? I don't blame you." She took a deep breath, flaunting her breasts. "Too bad you hadn't hit puberty when—"

"How _dare_ you say such things! You don't know _what _I've been through!" Jelanda fumed.

"Your lack of shape tells me all I need to know."

"_It obviously tells you nothing! _I shouldn't even be speaking about such private things with the likes of you!"

"Well then, you weren't very far along, were you?"

Jelanda turned red.

"Alright, now, stop. He's not worth all this trouble," Aelia said. She winked at Arngrim. He shook his head.

She was silenced as the air in front of them rippled. Aelia sighed. Freya. The goddess had a habit of showing up whenever any of the Einherjar started having too much fun.

"You two!" Freya snapped. "That is not how a warrior of Asgard ought to conduct themselves!"

"Lady Freya, _she _started it!" Jelanda cried.

"I most certainly did not, you spoiled-rotten little—"

"Silence!" she ordered. Jelanda and Arngrim stood.

"_I _was behaving myself," Mystina insisted.

"I did not ask you," Freya snapped. She looked down at the lounging Aelia. "You are Aelia?"

"Yes, Lady Freya."

"You will come with me."

"Did something—"

"Do not ask questions!" Freya cried. _She certainly has something up her cooch,_ Aelia thought. She smirked. "The Allmother has summoned you. Take my hand."

Aelia stood and did as she was told, her stomach starting to tie into knots with worry. She felt herself being pulled. Her friends and the hillside disappeared, and were replaced with the finely decorated halls of Asgard Hall.

* * *

_Seven hundred and fifty years, _the Allmother thought to herself, listening to Freya speak. _Seven hundred and fifty years of peace, and she chooses now to move against us?_

"Lenneth, things are not looking good. The army that she's amassed is—Lenneth, are you listening?" Freya asked. "Lenneth!"

"Yes. I am listening," Lenneth lied, shaken from her thoughts. "Please continue."

Freya cleared her throat and continued. "The army that Hel has created is nearly twice the size of ours. This is _not_ good at all. How we could have missed the energy signals is beyond me…"

"I don't understand it. Such a massive gathering of demonic energy ought to be easily detected!"

"I don't know where she got the ability to hide it…we just don't have the manpower to fight them. Lenneth, I know this isn't something you look highly upon, especially since you promised peace between the nine realms, but…"

"You're telling me we need to gather warriors, aren't you?" Lenneth asked miserably. "After seven hundred and fifty years of peace…"

Freya nodded. "Yes, my lady. Shall we awaken Hrist?"

"No," Lenneth said immediately. Her sister's actions against her hadn't been forgotten, and Lenneth knew that Hrist would resent following her orders. _She would think me a usurper_. "I don't think she would be loyal to me. And what of my—our—body? I cannot give it away to her now and I fear what she'd do with its power."

Freya raised an eyebrow. "Surely you do not intend to do this yourself? You have enough to do here; perhaps we could send Frei? I am sure she would not mind."

"No, Frei's combat skills are not adequate for such a job. Let me think for a moment."

"As you wish." Freya fell silent, allowing Lenneth to think undisturbed. Many of the old Einherjar had chosen to be reincarnated rather than remain in Asgard, diminishing their forces. The legions of Hel had already begun to move; something had to be done immediately. Asgard needed soldiers, and the only way to obtain them quick enough was to harvest human souls.

"I promised them peace," Lenneth said. "I promised the humans peace. What sort of Allmother would I be if I went back on a promise to the entirety of Midgard?"

"It is a broken promise, or the lives of all in Asgard, and many lives in Midgard, too."

But who could she trust enough to gather human souls? Hrist was certainly out of the question; even if they were to awaken her, she would need a body. Lenneth felt that she couldn't trust her. And Silmeria…even if she weren't still in Brahms' hands, Lenneth wouldn't be able to give her a body.

Then, who? The Aesir would not understand the soul of a human as she did, or even as another human would.

_Another human._

Her mind was made up. If this task was to be given to anyone, it would be one of her Einherjar. They knew her methods; they had fought beside her, they had helped her defeat Loki, and she would trust them with her life. It would be controversial at best, but it was the only good idea she could think of on short notice.

But which one?

"Lenneth, have you decided?"

She shut her eyes and expanded her vision beyond the walls of her hall. There was Nanami, dutifully sweeping the paths outside the hall. A sweet child, but nowhere near forceful enough to command warriors. She continued on. Gandar sat in one of the magic training halls, reading a thick leather-bound book. She cringed at the thought of him as a Valkyrie. She looked around and saw Belenus dueling with Jun. Jun was too easily corrupted, Lenneth decided, but Belenus was a possibility. She looked on. She finally reached a hill, where Mystina and Jelanda stared each other down angrily as Aelia and Arngrim dueled. Aelia flipped his sword out of his hands; he followed it, surprised, and she knocked him down with a kick to the chest. She was on him instantly, knees on his chest, a proud smile on her face. Arngrim held his hands up in surrender. Lenneth nodded. Aelia was a strong woman with extensive knowledge of battle and magic. And, even if she didn't show it, she had a kind heart.

Her choice was made.

"Freya."

"Yes, Lenneth?"

"I need you to find someone for me. Her name is Aelia. She's—"

"Surely you aren't giving this task to a _human?_" Freya cried, outraged. "A _human_, commanding newly-recruited Einherjar? Madness!"

"Freya, have her come to me."

"Absolute _madness_, Lenneth—"

"Do you have someone else in mind?" Lenneth asked.

"I…no, but I just don't—"

"Then bring her to me!" Lenneth interrupted loudly, standing.

"And what about the powers Aelia would need? You could never give them all to her, a human couldn't handle it! Only the body of a god—"

"The souls of men and gods are not as weak as you think. You are right, of course, but under the circumstances it's the best we can do. If I can find a suitable replacement—"

"I shall go, Lady Lenneth!"

Lenneth smiled. "And what would I do without you here? No, you are too rough on them."

"But—"

We do not have time to argue about this. Do as I say!"

Freya bowed her head. "As you wish, my lady." With those words, she disappeared, the air rippling around her.

Lenneth sat back down, wondering herself if this was a good idea. Only a few select humans had been given the tasks of those gods who had fallen in the war against Loki, and those had always been those she trusted most. That was not to say she didn't trust Aelia, but she simply did not know Aelia as well as she knew, say, Arngrim or Mystina, and though Mystina was a good mage, her skills in physical combat were practically nonexistent.

She knew, though, that Aelia was a good warrior with knowledge of magic. She was strong-willed, but she had also been a loyal Einherjar during their many battles together. Most importantly, she had been a human being…she could understand the souls of those she recruited, unlike Hrist, or Freya, or even herself back when she was a Valkyrie.

The question was, how would Aelia handle it? Could she tolerate the diversity of human personalities? She remembered Aelia's hatred of men. Could she handle the necessary powers? She already had a lot of power within her to handle; if anybody would be able to handle it, Aelia would.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the air rippled once again, and Freya reappeared, the dragonian woman by her side. Aelia knelt respectfully.

"You have summoned me, Lady Lenneth?"

Lenneth wondered just how big of a mistake she was making.

**-- -- --**

Aelia listened silently while Lenneth explained the situation.

"Somehow, we were unable to sense the forces of Hel gathering until recently, but according to our spies they grow stronger by the day; we must do something about it. We must do something _immediately_," Lenneth explained quickly. "Aelia, this is where you come in."

Aelia, still tired from her daily training, lifted her head to gaze at the Allmother. "I will do anything I can to help, my Lady."

"Mortal," Freya interrupted, "I believe it would be wise to listen to what we have planned before—"

"I have a name!" Aelia snapped. She had never been fond of Freya's arrogance towards humans. Freya clenched her fists.

"A human woman will not speak to _me_ in such a—"

"Freya!" Lenneth cried. "Please! We have no time for this. Aelia, what I'd like you to do is something no mortal soul has ever been asked to do. As you know, my younger sister is still with the vampire lord, Brahms. I would not trust Hrist with this task, not after what happened during Ragnarok. I am appointing you to replace them."

Aelia's eyes grew wide. "Y-you're asking me to…"

"I want you to become a Valkyrie." Lenneth nodded. "You are the most powerful and the most reliable of my female warriors. I believe you are fit for the job. Will you take it?"

Aelia was silent for a few seconds. "Surely I am not worthy of such an honor."

"Are you refusing?"

"No!" Aelia said quickly. "I will accept the task."

"Excellent. Now listen carefully. I am going to grant you the powers I had as a Valkyrie; you will be able to sense the presence of human souls, undead, and demons, as I did. You will have the ability to fly, and the ability to take the souls of others into your own. Fear not," Lenneth said, seeing Aelia's face. "Not all of them; I would not overburden you. Are you ready to receive this power?"

Aelia stared at Lenneth. _I wonder if I can handle it. But, I need to do what needs to be done._ "Yes, my lady."

Lenneth shook her head. "No. Do not do this because you feel obligated. If you are not ready to accept, take some time and think."

"We don't _have _time!" Freya said.

Aelia fought with herself. _I've never received such an honor. Why am I balking at it? I shouldn't be. I should accept. I can handle this, I'm sure I've handled worse. I _will _accept. _Before she could think on her decision too long, she spoke. "I am ready, Allmother."

"Good. Don't be frightened, this will probably feel odd to you," Lenneth said gently, holding out her hands. The air around them began to glow, and along with them, so did the air around Aelia. At first she felt nothing, but soon her brain felt as though it were itchy. It hadn't felt as she had imagined it: a sudden sense of greater awareness, and a rush of great godly power coursing through her veins. Instead the awareness came slowly. She began to notice things she hadn't; she wasn't just aware of Freya and the other Aesir in the room; she sensed their presence like one might sense rapidly increasing heat. Space and time themselves seemed to expand along with her mind. Her back tingled, then itched, then burned. Pained, she turned her head and was surprised to see she had grown wings. As a dragonian, wings were not odd to her, but she had never had them in her human form before. She flexed them, and found they were leathery and brown, much like the wings of her dragon form.

The wave of power that had been pouring into her had slowed down to a trickle. She felt it running through, not like a torrent of power, but like rejuvenating blood. She was no longer tired; she felt stronger than she ever had. Both her body and soul felt ten times stronger than they ever had.

She looked up from the floor to find Freya whispering into Lenneth's ear. Peeved, she shot Freya her best glare.

Lenneth shook her head. "I'm not much worried about that."

"I would warn her anyway, it would be foolish not to," Freya advised.

"As you wish," Lenneth sighed, turning her head back to Aelia. "Freya has asked me to warn you about your power."

"You mean the transforming?"

"Yes. You are aware of what that power is, right?"

"It is a form of necromancy," Aelia replied.

"And necromancy is a fickle art. It can grant one unspeakable power, but it can also destroy one's soul," Lenneth told her. "Aelia, do not use your power carelessly."

"I will be careful," Aelia assured her.

Lenneth smiled. "Good. Are you ready to head down to Midgard?"

"I am, my lady."

"Then I will send you down." Lenneth held out her hand, and the room around Aelia shimmered, and was replaced with blue sky. She looked down and realized she was no longer on the ground, but flying high above Midgard, which lay below.

Aelia hovered over the land, looking down on it somewhat nostalgically. How she had loved traveling with her friends through those woods and over those mountains. She could even see the path they used to take between Artolia and Villnore; it was a bit more worn-down and beaten with age, but there it was. She smiled, remembering the first time she had gone down that road. She had been with Kashell and Celia. Kashell had been drinking in the tavern, and was hitting on Aelia. He had stopped, of course, but only because Aelia had threatened to take his oversized sword and—

_Aelia, can you hear me?_

She jumped, and then realized it was Lenneth speaking to her.

_Uh…yes. Sorry, my lady. I can hear you._

_Good. As I'm sure you see, the land has changed since you've last seen it,_ Lenneth said.

_I see. Artolia's grown quite a bit,_ she replied, looking down at the city, which had more than doubled in size.

_Yes. Aelia, are you ready to attempt spiritual concentration?_

_Spiritual concentration?_

_The merging of your mind and soul with that of a human who is near death. It is how you will find people worthy of becoming heroes of Asgard. I will direct you towards your first._

_Uh…I guess so._

_Good. Shut your eyes and open your heart and mind. Don't be afraid if you begin to experience memories not your own. You'll be synchronizing your mind with the mind of a human that is close to death. Try it now._

Aelia shut her eyes, and concentrated.

_Open mind, open mind. How am I supposed to do that?_ She focused, trying to feel something. She was aware of souls; she could sense humans moving around below her, but she didn't feel any memories or strange sensations.

_Aelia, try imagining your mind as a room. Open the door of that room and let whatever is outside to enter._

_Yes, my lady. _She pictured her mind as a room. She pictured herself opening the door of the room. She saw light come in, and felt a slight draft. She threw the door open all the way.

Suddenly, a wave of emotion and foreign sensations overcame her. Frightened, she tried to shut the door, and found she couldn't. A man's screaming filled her ears; even odder, she could feel herself speaking the words.

_I've seen zombie dragons with more sex appeal._

Aelia started laughing, but the laughter quickly dissipated as the vision continued.

_I TOLD YOU NOT TO FUCK WITH ME!_

Her nose, Goddess, _her own nose_, was filled with the odor of cheap alcohol and heavy perfume. Overwhelming torrents of thoughts and emotions washed over her.

_Very mature. Are you going to call them "shitheads" next?_

_Abijal, don't! Control yourself, please! – Shut up, you stupid woman! — Abijal—AAUGH!_

Aelia's eyes widened with rage before they filled with tears.

_You could have killed her, you son of a bitch._

She heard rustling leaves and hushed whispers.

_Hey—get away from that, you gods-damned thief! I SAID GET AWAY—_ a clash of metal, followed by pained moaning.

_Artolia. He's in Artolia…_

The feelings dwindled, then disappeared. She realized that as she was concentrating, she had grabbed her head and had been pulling on her hair. Suddenly aware of the pain, she let go. She spun around in the air and eyed Artolia. The city sat below, looking quiet and peaceful from up in the sky.

_Aelia, are you okay?_

_Yes, my lady. I'm okay. I'm fine._ If she had still been human, her heart would probably have exploded out of her chest by now. _What was all of that?_

_You felt many things. Things that the man named Abijal has experienced, is currently experiencing, and things that he will experience in the very near future. _

_Abijal? _She felt annoyed; her first Einherjar was to be male! _A man? And a wifebeater at that!_

_Yes, Aelia. I chose him for a reason. Do not be so quick to make judgements. There are many great warriors, male and female. Do not overlook a great person because of how they were born._

_But—_

_Do not be so quick to make judgements,_ Lenneth repeated. _There are things you won't understand until you've spoken to him. It will be the same with others you find. You must get used to it. _

_I understand. I'll do my best._ Aelia started down towards Artolia.

_Thank you, Aelia. And remember: these are humans, as you once were. Treat them with respect if you wish to earn their trust and loyalty._

_I will, Lady Lenneth. Thank you._

_No. Thank you for taking this task. It helps the gods more than you'll ever know._

_It is an honor to serve you,_ Aelia replied. She received no reply.


	2. Chapter 2: Abijal

A/N: We just wanted to thank everyone who's been reading this. We appreciate it! It's good to see it being enjoyed by people. :D We hope you enjoy this chapter! Aelia gets her first Einherjar.

Also, if you haven't yet, please read our profile page to be sure you've seen the content warnings! Thanks!

* * *

Aelia hovered over the city of Artolia. She had heard the man's voice here.

She studied the city once more. Roads filled with traveling merchants and caravans led in and out of the city, which even from the sky she could see was bustling with activity. From up in the sky, it didn't look like anyone was dying. How deceiving.

_Aelia. _She started at the voice in her head, then realized it was Lenneth._ Remember what I told you. Once you enter the city you will be synchronized with the human's soul. You will experience everything they experience, whether you want to or not. Do you understand this?_

_Yes,_ Aelia replied.

_Are you ready?_

_Yes._

_Remember to cast your prejudice aside and give this person a chance. He deserves it, and I believe you will find him useful. No one in Midgard is perfect; you know this. Go ahead._

Aelia swallowed heavily, bracing herself, then decended into the city.

* * *

The tavern reeked of cheap alcohol and even cheaper tobacco, which, the armored man thought, was probably mostly crabgrass, anyway. Morons such as those who populated this place couldn't tell the two apart.

Abijal leaned his head on his right hand -- his only hand -- and eyed the desiccated whore who was moving 'seductively' from man to man in the tavern with disgust. She was old, probably around his age, but not nearly as healthy. She was malnourished and covered in liver spots. Her ribs were visible through her skintight dress. She noticed his glances and, misinterpreting them, approached him.

"Like what you see?" she asked, winking. Now that she was closer, he could see a small wart on her neck and purple bags the size of horse nuts under her eyes, not to mention the ridiculous amount of perfume she wore. _No doubt to cover the smell of rot,_ he thought, and smirked. The old woman shook her hips in what was supposed to be a seductive manner.

Abijal sneered. "I've seen zombie dragons with more sex appeal," he snorted, turning back to his drink. The prostitute gasped, outraged.

"This coming from a man with half a face and one arm!" said a crusty old man who sat next to him. His words were a bit slurred.

"Fuck you," Abijal grumbled. It had been five years since a dragon had burnt away the left side of his face, along with his left arm, but he was still self-conscious about it. Not to mention the toll the fever from the infections had taken on his mind.

The old man swelled indignantly, and the whore wrapped her arms around the man. "Oh, baby, don't let him get you down. I like my men to be up." She laughed at her own stupid joke.

"Nobody talks to me like some common…cah, uh, commoner!" the old man roared angrily, waving a skin of beer around wildly. "Yeah, I was the greatest mercenary back in my day! These half-wit travelers think they're so much better—"

"Old man," Abijal said, "your glory is best left where it came from: back in the good old days. It means nothing to me. Now leave me alone before I hurt you."

"A twerp like you? Hurt _me_?" slurred the old man. "Nobody can hurt me, for they call me Maleficus the—oof!" his words were cut off as he found his collar in Abijal's fist.

"Who're you calling 'twerp,' you old fuck? I'm forty-one!"

"Elder abuse! _Elder abuse_!"

"Hey! Put that man down!" the barkeep cried angrily. A few men rushed forward to help "Maleficus." The rest cheered, eager for a bar fight.

One man made the mistake of pulling a knife on Abijal. He swiftly dropped the old man and pulled out his sword, smacking the knife out of the man's hand and removing a finger. The man howled and backed off.

"_I told you not to fuck with me!_" Abijal roared. He gritted his teeth, trying to control his rage.

_Don't do this. Don't do this. Remember Nyoka. Control it. You _can_ control it—_

Maleficus took a swing at Abijal, and he lost it. He threw down his sword and jumped on the old man, knocking him against the bar, slamming his head into it again and again and—

It took three men to pull the enraged Abijal off of the old man. Abijal struggled and cursed fruitlessly as they dragged him to the exit and unceremoniously tossed him outside. The sword he had thrown down soon followed, clattering on the cobblestone street.

"_Fine_!" Abijal roared, rage beyond control. He jumped up and down madly, waving his fist at them. "Be that way, you fart-fucking teetotalers! MAY THE SPAWN OF A THOUSAND DEMONS NEST IN THE CREVICES OF YOUR ASSHOLES!"

_Mature, Abijal,_ he could hear his ex-wife Nyoka saying. _Very mature. Are you going to call them "shitheads" next?_

"Shitheads!!" he yelled, for good measure. Picking up his sword and sliding it into its sheath, he turned away from the bar. He noticed a small child staring at him, eyes wide. He leaned down. "What're you lookin' at?" he snapped, squinting his remaining eye at the kid. The child ran off.

"Fucking _bastards,_" he muttered, knowing it wasn't their fault. "Fucking _dragon._"

He found a wooden chair nearby and sat down, grinding his teeth and squeezing the arm of the chair.

Ever since he had grown careless while battling a dragon, he had been dealing with this. He had seen it coming, but decided he could kill the dragon before it let loose. He ran at the dragon, sword swinging. The dragon opened its mouth, and he threw up his left arm in an attempt to shield his face. In the end, he had lost his left eye, most of the teeth on that side of his face, and his left arm, up to the elbow. He couldn't remember past the first couple of seconds after the blast; his mind had blanked out after that. Nyoka had killed the dragon before it could kill him.

The wounds had become infected. The horrible fevers he'd had, according to the doctor, was what caused the rage issues. His wife had cared for him; she had made sure he survived. He had recovered well, but his brain had suffered permanently. And how had he paid her back for her kindness? A fractured spine and a broken arm during one of his many fits of rage; that was how. She didn't deserve it. She was too good for that—

He heard a snap. He looked down and saw he had snapped the arm of the chair he'd been squeezing. Enraged once again, he grabbed the chair and threw it across the road, nearly hitting a young couple who had been strolling by. "_Shit!"_ He screamed. They jumped out of the way of the chair and quickly ran off. He sat down on the stone walkway, where the chair had been, and breathed deeply. In. Out. In. Slowly, he felt the anger seeping away.

Sometimes he had dreams about that dragon. That it came back from the dead to finish the job. That his face and arm had been restored, only to be burned away again. That it had burnt Nyoka instead of him. He had once dreamt that Nyoka had left him not to protect their unborn child from his fits of rage, but because the damn dragon had a bigger cock than him.

He laughed at the thought. Ridiculous. Nyoka had loved dragons, but not like _that_.

He had spent most of his adult life hunting dragons. He had met Nyoka while battling a dragon. She had shared his passion for hunting dragons, though she preferred dissecting them to see how their bodies were put together, how they could breathe fire, and of course to make jewelry from their claws and bones. He wore one of her many pieces himself. He hadn't hunted dragons since his accident with the dragon over by Villnore, but he was thinking of getting back into it.

_I feel like an old man, _Abijal thought. _I can't just sit around here and rot. I have to do something. _Something,_ or else I'll end up like fartfucker Maleficus in there._

Of course, he would be even more careful, now that he only had one eye and one arm. Nyoka wouldn't be with him to protect him this time. She had moved to Hai-Lan to live with her sister and brother-in-law when she found out she was pregnant, in order to protect the child. It had been a friendly divorce that both of them had agreed to, but it didn't make it any less heartbreaking.

He found out that she'd had a girl, named Sophronia. He had met the child twice…she would be three or four now. He didn't dare see her more often. He didn't trust himself around her.

_Oh, quit wallowing in self-pity, idiot,_ he told himself. _You going to get supplies or not?_ He stood up and walked down the road, looking at the stores, seeing if he could find anything he needed. People passed him by, some of them eyeing his injuries with curiosity, most just ignoring him. Artolia was a big city, and many different people came there.

He paused, looking into the window of one of the shops. He entered the store, looking around at the wares displayed. He turned to the shopkeeper to ask about the prices. The shopkeeper cringed at his face.

"I ain't beautiful. I'm buying your stuff. So deal," Abijal said curtly. He was _sick_ of that expression. _Sick _of it! He oughtta—

_Get a hold of yourself. NOW._

The shopkeeper cleared his throat. "How can I help you?"

He asked for some food to hold him over until he got some dragon meat; preservative salt for the meat, some sewing supplies in case he ripped something or needed stitches, bandages, a sharpening stone for his sword, a new canteen since his old one had began to decay, oil and extra wicks for his lantern, and some writing supplies. He paid for the items and left, leaving the shopkeeper to sigh in relief.

The sun was starting to sink behind the horizon. He may as well get a head start on his journey and get a few hours of walking in before the sun went down completely.

* * *

_How fucking boring,_ Abijal thought, adjusting his supply bag on his back. _Do these woods have nothing to offer? No animals? Bandits? Undead? Anything?_

He sighed. His eyelid was becoming heavy. Suddenly, he stopped. Something wasn't right. _What the fuck? _He spun around. _I know someone's watching me. Someone's here._ He looked around, but couldn't find anyone. He searched through some nearby foliage, but all he found was a squirrel; a nice, big fat one that would be perfect for soup. He leapt at it and tried to catch it, but it got away. He cursed loudly, kicked the bush, then started down the road again. The sensation of being watched hadn't gone away, though. "Alright, whoever the _fuck _is staring at me, get your ball-less pussy selves out here! _Now!_" He waited, glaring at the woods. Nothing. There wasn't even a sound of breathing. "Fuck you! Don't think you can fucking jump me, because you _can't_!"

Abijal turned and continued down the road, muttering to himself. He occasionally turned to see if anyone was following him, and once or twice he caught a glimpse of something bright green, but it was never completely visible. He decided the road was haunted.

He had been walking for two hours now, and nothing had attacked him, or even crossed his path for that matter; all that was there was that annoying nagging sense of being watched. He was tired. Exhausted, really, and not just from walking, but from boredom. _You forgot about the long periods of nothingness,_ he told himself, finding a clearing and setting up camp. _Those periods between the dragons and the thieves and the wild animals where you have nothing to fight. The brain blocks that out, doesn't it? Just like it blocks out pain._

_It's depressing._

He didn't even bother lighting a fire. He wasn't hungry and it wasn't all that cold out, anyway; it was a perfect autumn night to begin his travels again. He propped up his tent using two large sticks and set up his sleeping mat, and laid down. He stared up through the trees, thinking about Nyoka.

_It's not the same, _he thought miserably. _Traveling isn't the same without her. Gods I miss her. Fucking dragon. Fucking infection._

He thought back to the moment that had, ultimately, decided their fate as a couple.

* * *

Abijal narrowed his eye. The young man had been eyeing his wife for some time.

_She's _my _wife, shitsprout, _Abijal thought.

"Abijal," Nyoka said. Abijal turned away from the man and looked at his wife. "Don't worry about him. I see him. If he tries anything, I can defend myself."

Abijal turned back to the bar and tried to ignore the sensation of the young man sizing him up, wondering if he could take him and usurp his wife. Eyeing her body. Mentally undressing her. Imagining—

"Hey, beautiful."

Abijal turned around to find that the little pervert had gotten up the balls to actually _speak _to her.

"Got some balls, eh? Want me to break them?" Abijal snapped.

"Abijal," Nyoka warned.

"Oh come now, you have to admit that a woman such as this ought not be with a troll like yourself," the boy sneered.

Abijal roared. He jumped out of his seat and with a single punch, had knocked the bastard to the floor. The boy screamed like a pussy, trying to shield his face. Abijal dropped down to his knees, making sure to land on his stomach.

"Abijal, no!" Nyoka cried. She tried to pull him off the boy. He wouldn't have it. He shrugged her away and, using a mug that had fallen to the ground, beat the boy's face in.

Five, six, seven times he struck the little bitch. His face was as pliable as putty by the time Nyoka had gotten her husband off of him. She dragged Abijal back to their room.

"Abijal!" Nyoka scolded.

"What? He's alive, isn't he?"

"Abijal, I know it's hard, but you need to try and control it!" she screamed at him.

"I fucking did control it!" he screamed back. "The bastard is still alive, isn't he?! You didn't see how he had been looking at you, like you were some piece of meat!"

"Abijal, I can handle perverts! I don't need your help!"

Looking back, it had been ridiculous. Still, in his rage, he had misconstrued her words. "How fucking ungrateful," he growled at her, hurling a lit candle in her direction. "I try and defend your honor and that's the thanks I get? 'I don't need your help?!'"

"Abijal, that's not—"

"You stupid, ungrateful bitch!" He slapped her. She cried out, not expecting the blow. "Why do I even bother with you?" He slapped her again, knocking her to the floor.

"Abijal, don't! Control yourself, please!"

"Shut up, you stupid woman! STOP TELLING ME TO CONTROL IT!"

"Abijal—"

He kicked at her as hard as he could, hitting her on her spine. She screamed and tried to roll away, knowing that talking with him would be useless at this point. He pinned her down, and punched her, again and again and again—

* * *

Abijal smacked himself. _Don't think about it_. So stupid, so fucking petty that argument had been, and he broke her spine over it.

_You could have killed her, you son of a bitch. She could be dead because of—_

He smacked himself again. _No sense wallowing in the past. Knock it off._

He rolled over and, staring at the tree he had camped next to, drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Rustling.

He opened his eye slowly, looking around in the moonlight. _Probably raccoons. Oh well._

More rustling. Hushed whispers.

He sat up, listening. He grabbed his sword. There were more whispers. He jumped up, suddenly alert, and looked around again. He saw four or so shadowy shapes moving around in the darkness, pawing at his things.

"Shit, he's awake!" one of them hissed.

"HEY!" Abijal snapped, drawing his sword. "Get away from my things, fucking thieves!"

"Wait, look at this!" Another man held up a small dagger, the handle carved from bone and inlaid with rough gemstones. "Whoa, this might get us a pretty—"

_Nyoka made that._

"Get away from that, you gods-damned thief!" He slashed at the man, who draw his own dagger and deflected the blow. "I SAID GET AWAY!"

He spun around to find three more of them attacking him. The one who had tried to take the bone dagger stood and joined the assault. Abijal swung wildly, trying to get them off of him, and managed to slice through his neck.

Seeing their dead comrade, they backed off for a second, and he grabbed the dagger, trying to tuck it in his belt while holding his sword up at the same time.

Nobody was taking that dagger from him, especially not half-wit thieves.

As he struggled to tuck the blade away, the thieves jumped at him again, this time all four of them were on him at once. He nearly dropped the dagger as he blocked their attacks. Finally, he got the dagger in his belt. It was safe.

That moment, he realized he would never be able to fight dragons again.

_Fuck trying to do this with one arm. I'm having a hard time with _bandits_, for the gods' sake. I'll get killed—_

It was his last thought. He felt a sharp blade pierce his chest, felt the blood leave the wound. He dropped his sword, clutching at the dagger, and fell forward as a second blade pierced his skull.

* * *

"Oh, those _fuckers_. They fucking _killed me_! After all I've been through, I've been killed by fucking _thieves_!"

Abijal, not yet aware of Aelia, stomped his feet and charged at the two men who were trying to turn his body over, muttering about not leaving such a nice piece behind. He kicked at them. His boot went through one of their heads.

"SON OF A BITCH! GET AWAY! GET AWAY, BOTH OF YOU!"

Aelia approached the man. He heard her, spun around, and glared.

"Who are you? What do you want? You one of them? You can't have it!"

"I don't want your trinkets, idiot," Aelia snorted. "I've come for your soul."

"What—" Abijal stared at her, then narrowed his eye. "Well, you can't have that, either, demon."

"I am not a demon. I am Aelia. You may remember me from the tales of the period before Ragnarok?"

"Aelia…yes. Oh Gods," he said, suddenly frightened. "The dragonian!"

"Ironic, yes?" Aelia smiled humorlessly. Forgetting Lenneth's instructions, she continued. "Tell me, what was it about slaughtering the majesty and grace of dragons that appealed to you?"

Abijal thought for a moment, trying to come up with a good answer. "It was a challenge. A test of my strength. I…oh, fuck this shit," Abijal snarled. "I enjoyed it, okay? It was a challenge, yes, but it was _fun_. Deal with it!"

"Until you received your due reward," she replied, gesturing at his face. "Not only that, but you felt it necessary to give up your life to save a petty object."

"Fuck you, it belonged to my wife!"

"The one you nearly beat to death?" Aelia asked with a raised brow.

"_FUCK YOU_!" Abijal screamed again, losing his composure. "You don't know _anything _about me! You don't…you don't…" he was crying tears of rage. "That's something I've always regretted, you misandrist _bitch_! Leave it to _you_ to hold it against me!"

"I know plenty about you. I know your whole life story."

"Then you _know _what happened. You know! So leave me alone! You're a misandrist bitch!"

"Name-calling. How mature of you."

_Aelia, _Lenneth's voice broke into her head. _That's enough. You are there to recruit him, do not torture his soul. Remember what I said, he is a human who has made mistakes.  
_

"It's _true!_" Abijal snarled. "You're a man-hater. Just leave me alone and let me be dead in peace! I don't have to justify myself to you."

"Actually, you do. I've become a sort of Valkyrie, and I'm here to take your soul," Aelia said, trying to be somewhat diplomatic. "The question is, are you worthy?"

"Valkyrie? Don't make me laugh. Ragnarok is over, there is no need for Valkyries or Einherjar."

"I suppose you've heard of Hel, correct?" Aelia snapped. "She is planning a war against Asgard. I've been selected as the new Valkyrie."

"A human, huh?"

"Yes."

"And you've chosen me to join you." He looked at the thieves, who had managed to turn his body over and were trying to wrench the bone dagger from its grip.

"The Allmother led me to you, as she sees some virtue within you. You're strong, physically and spiritually. You died protecting something important to you, even if it was just a memento…you have a warrior's spirit. So, yes. Will you join me?" She held out her hand.

"Am I, a loathsome male, truly being permitted to join the female wonder that is you?" Abijal laughed.

"Yes or no, Abijal?" Aelia muttered, narrowing her eyes.

"I don't know why I should join you, you're probably only going to shove my mistakes in my face again and again," Abijal replied. "But my daughter!" Abijal cried suddenly. "I'll never see her or Nyoka again…"

"Whether you join me or not, that is how it will be. Now answer me. Will you make yourself useful or will you give up your soul and your memories to be reborn as a little helpless baby?"

"Oh, fuck you. I'll join you, on one condition," Abijal replied, after only a second's hesitation. "Let me kill those bastards."

"You may not kill them," Aelia told him, "but you can fight them to get your memento back. You died for it, I suppose it's only fair. Show me your skill." She granted Abijal some of her energy, allowing him to make contact with the physical world. The thieves had managed to get the dagger and were admiring it, practically drooling. He charged at the three remaining thieves, kicking the one who held the dagger in the head, knocking him out. The thief dropped the blade. He punched the second one, and he fell down, out cold.

The last thief stared at him, glanced at Abijal's body, then glanced at Abijal. Abijal snarled, and the thief ran away screaming.

Abijal picked up the bone blade and clutched it tightly. "My wife made it. It was one of her favorite creations. She spent months whittling away at the bone to get these details," he ran his finger over the carvings. "To let them just take it would be wrong."

"Are you finished?" Aelia asked, exasperated.

"Yes." He smiled, fingering the blade.

"Good. Then let's go."

Abijal nodded. His soul disappeared, dematerializing into a glowing orb of light. Aelia absorbed the orb into herself.

"My first Einherjar," she said, somewhat happily. Even if it was a man, and, as far as she was concerned, an unworthy one, it was still her first recruit. She hadn't done much, but she still felt accomplished. Smiling to herself, she took flight once again, hovering over the land.

_Aelia._

She didn't jump. She smiled. _Ha, I'm getting used to this._

Lenneth chuckled. _Good! You have a lot to learn, but not jumping when I speak to you is definitely a start. I just wanted to give you a reminder; when you recruit people, taunting them is not a good way to gain their trust. This ought to make sense to you. This task requires you to lay down your prejudices and recruit many types of people, understand?_

_Yes, but—_

_Even if they have done something distasteful, if they regret, truly regret, what they have done, let it go and accept them for who they are now. If they haven't, gently teach them their errors. If you want Einherjar loyal to the Aesir, you must treat them with respect._

_Yes._

_One more thing: before you go seeking out Hel's minions, you may want to recruit a couple more people. From what I can see, Abijal is strong, but with only two of you defeating them will be more difficult. Someone capable of using magic would be a good thing to have on your side._

_Thank you,_ Aelia replied.

_There are two young women who I think will be of help to you in Crell Monferaigne. They do not have much longer. _Lenneth paused. _I have a feeling that this will be difficult for you. _

_I can handle it, _Aelia said confidently. She turned into herself, imaging her mind as a room once again. Except the room wasn't empty anymore. She could feel Abijal's presence in the room. She could not see him, but she felt his soul there, resting, waiting to be called upon for battle. She realized she could probably look into his head, and considered it for a moment, but decided not to. It would be an invasion of his privacy, like the mind-readers she'd encountered during her life.

She clutched the handle of the door to her mind-room, bracing herself, and swung it open. She felt the same rush as emotions and voices flooded into the room. Two sets of emotions and memories washed over her; one adult, one seemingly a child.

_What can I do? How can I help my sister with this loss?_

Someone bounced up and down absurdly.

_Delicious apples! _Her head suddenly felt weighed down by her hair. _I beeyootiful like the Duchess?_

She heard someone else talking to her. _There's the rumor that the Commander's secretly King Wendell's Man-Queen…_

_Sissher, whassa Man-Queen?_

She felt something tickle her face, then something smash into her head.

_Lily doesn't stand a chance against these things. Even with her bow and arrow. She can barely shoot a tree._

Aelia felt something hit her in the back of the head; she blacked out, but after a second came to. The vision continued.

_Missher Commander Prince Man-Queen King sir of Edelburg!_

She felt burning heat, unimaginable pain. Aelia clutched at her face, screaming._ Help me, sissher!_

_Lllium!—Oh, thank the Goddess!_

She saw a blackened skull, flames flicking in and out of the eye sockets. She heard crackling flames and agonized screaming. She found herself crying.

_This is my fault. This is my fault, I told her it meant something perfectly innocent._

She felt a blade buried into her back. The vision darkened, and Aelia was back to herself. She spun around to face the woods outside of Crell Monferaigne, and took a deep breath.


	3. Chapter 3: Lillium and Trillium

Aelia flew for a short while until she was over the forest of Crell Monferaigne, looking down into the trees. From up in the sky, nothing suspicious seemed to be going on…except for foul-smelling smoke from the northeast.

She cringed at the memory of the flames on her skin. She wondered if someone had burnt at the stake; either way, that smell meant someone had suffered horribly. _Maybe it was a dead body that burned, _she thought. _You felt the burning. Don't delude yourself._ She waited a few moments for the dread to pass, which it did rather quickly. Lenneth had said it would be difficult, but she could do it. Not liking how this recruitment was turning out so far, she descended into the woods and felt herself synchronize with other human beings once again.

* * *

_What can I do? How can I help my sister with this loss?_ The young woman, dressed in black, stared at her crying twin helplessly. "Lillium," she said softly.

Lillium looked up, her long hair falling over her face. "Sissher? I want Mommy and Daddy."

"I'm sorry." Trillium sat down, stroking Lillium's hair. "I'm sorry, but I can't bring them back." She placed a hand on the plain wooden caskets, sealed to prevent anyone from looking at the ruined remains inside. "I wish I could."

Their family had lived in a tiny village in the outskirts of Bede Manor, one of many manors in Crell Monferaigne. Trillium had taken Lillium out into the woods, as she normally did on her free weekends to give their mother a break and give the curious Lillium an idea of what her work was like. Caring for Lillium wasn't an easy task. The girl had toppled a large shelf over on herself when they were around three; her survival had been miraculous, but the shelf had done its damage. To this day, at twenty years old, she was mentally a toddler and had difficulty with a lot of basic tasks. A dumb person being hit in the head as a child was something a lot of folks made jokes about, but Trillium knew exactly what the injury could do.

They had camped out several miles away from home; Lillium loved to camp out. They'd made a campfire and sang dopey songs and cooked their dinner over the fire, and spent the night being merry and carefree, and had fallen asleep soon after the sun had set. The next morning, they had returned to find their entire village burned to the ground, their neighbors and friends slaughtered. Trillium had led Lillium through the wreckage with her eyes covered, hoping against hope that their parents had made it. There was nothing left of their home but smoldering framework, and Trillium had later found their mother's body in the remains of their house. Their father was out back, in their small garden. He had still been alive. He had told them what happened, and how he'd tried to defend their home and mother and failed them. He had fought to stay alive until they returned. He had died less than five minutes after their return.

And now they sat beside their parents' caskets, which had been decorated with flowers and were laid next to the hole they would be put into. The few who had survived the attack were with them, mourning over the caskets of their own families. The sun shone absurdly bright and cheerily over the ashes and debris of their village.

"Is we can see them?" Lillium asked.

"No," Trillium said. "They _died_, Lillium." She had explained it in as simple terms as possible. When someone died, they were gone forever. When someone died, you would never see them again. Lillium didn't understand, but that was as simple as she could make it.

"But…but who take care of me?" Lillium asked.

Trillium stared blankly at her sister. Caring for Lillium would be a full-time job, possibly more difficult and trying than any mercenary's work. _Mercenary's work. I probably won't be doing that any more, either._ But, she needed to be cared for. She couldn't care for herself, and Trillium couldn't stand to just shove her off on someone else, not after Lillium had become so needy and attached to her. "I won't let anything happen to you," Trillium assured her, kneeling next to her sister. "I'll take care of you. You'll be fine, I promise."

Lillium smiled, tears still pouring from her eyes, and hugged Trillium. "Really? Thankie! I love sissher! Sissher love me please? And we love each other together?"

Trillium hugged her back, beginning to cry again, for her sister and her parents, but also for herself. _I can do this. It's not like I've never cared for her before. _"I love you. Of course I love you. Everything's going to be okay, that's a promise…"

* * *

"Camping! We go out in woods and sleep together!" A bright-faced Lillium jumped up and down joyfully.

Trillium, who had aged nearly five years in only one, nodded wearily. "We need to go get supplies. I hear Derian grew a lot of apples this year."

"Tashy apples?" her sister asked happily.

"Yes, tasty apples."

"_Tashy apples_!" Lillium bounced around the room, her long hair flying everywhere. It smacked Trillium in the hip and got tangled up in her sword hilt. Lillium whined when it pulled.

"Right." Trillium untangled the long hair from her blade irritably. Her patience was wearing thin. Lately, it seemed Lillium was trying to annoy her. _That's not true, you're just getting more annoyed at the same things she's always done. _"Let's go."

"Okay!" Lillium followed her out the door. "Bright sun. Ow. Owwwwww."

Trillium sighed at the sky. It was a gorgeous, warm day with a sky full of puffy white clouds. They made their way into town as Lillium babbled nonsensically about tasty apples and the Duchess Masilia, who she always did her best to emulate. She even kept her hair long, all the way down to her knees. It was cute sometimes, but it got annoying whenever Lillium tried to imitate the speech of the nobility.

Lillium squealed when she saw Derian's ramshackle cart, and ran ahead of Trillium. "_Tashy apples! _Tashy tashy tashy tashyyyy!"

Trillium sighed and chased after her. The cart was covered with the old canopy his wife had fixed with patches; cute patches featuring embroidered mice in little dresses that his daughter had sewn into them. The twins had become frequent customers after they had moved here a year and a half ago. Lillium loved the mouse patches. Derian hated them, but he put up with them because it was his daughter's work. He'd once torn one off to give to Lillium, and she kept it in her pocket, occasionally taking it out and using it as a doll.

"Trillium! I haven't seen you in a while," Derian greeted, squinting in the sun. His son, a boy of around eight, finished filling a sack of apples for another customer. "And Lillium. My sweet, _darling_ Lillium. How are you today?"

"Owwwwww, suuuuun." She swatted dramatically at the air. "Owwwwwwwwwwww—"

"Enough,Lillium!" Trillium snapped. Lillium pouted and lowered her face, making puppy eyes at her sister. Trillium turned away. "We've been trying to eat from the garden. I can't do much mercenary work anymore and I've been working odd jobs here and there. The generosity of our neighbors had kept us alive so far."

"Your hair's gotten longer, Lillium. It looks just _beee-yootiful_," Derian declared. Trillium, peeved at being ignored, placed a hand on her hip. Lillium giggled at his voice. "You take good care of it."

"Is long and pretty, jush like the bee-yootiful Duchess!" Lillium cried. "I bee-yootiful like the Duchess?"

"You arebeeee-YOOOtiful, just like the Duchess!" Derian replied, pinching her nose. She squealed in delight.

"Yes. Derian, how are the apples this year?" Trillium asked. "We were looking to buy some. I'm going to take her out for a stay in the forest; I think it will do her good and get some of this energy out." She gestures to Lillium, who was twirling in circles and fanning her hair at everyone who passed by.

"Ah, I see. They're good this year, big and juicy. Are you sure you're wanting to go out into the woods, though? What if you meet Eldaborg troops?"

Trillium raised a brow. "But I thought there hadn't been any sightings lately."

"I wouldn't trust that, but it's your choice. How many apples would you like?"

"Two pecks ought to be good. Lillium eats them quickly enough." Derian started bagging the applies. "So,_ is_ there any news on the war? We won't be going that far out and we certainly won't leave the bounds of the country," Trillium asked.

"Not that I've heard," Derian said. "No scouts have been spotted or anything like that. There's plenty of undetermined rumours flying about, though."

"Oh?"

"Mostly stuff about Commander Ezra. Bastard. Someone said he's seeking one of our noblewoman to force into marriage."

"Mah-ridge?" Lillium asked. "Pretty brides in white dresses. I be a bride one day?" she asked of Trillium.

Trillium snorted. _No you won't. Nobody wants an idiot for a bride. No, I shouldn't think such things. That's mean._ Her thoughts took on Lillium's voice. _Meeeaaan. _"You never know, you might be one day."

"Not for peace, of course, but as a means to obtain more land and make his 'War on the Goddess-Worshippers' easier. As if taking Lusannia wasn't enough. Hey, boy, could you help that lady over there?" Derian finished bagging the apples; his son began dealing with the other customer. "What he did to those poor people over there was awful. Lady Pheriba's daughters are understandably frightened and—according to my customers—have taken to wearing chastity belts. One man even said he was planning to murder Duke Larnell and force the Duchess into marriage, like he hasn't done enough to her."

Trillium cringed. She remembered the story; it had spread like a plague over the entire city in less than a day. The Commander had snuck into the city and had taken the Duchess for eight days and tortured her to the brink of death. He'd finally returned her to her father, with her eyes burned out. "I was mostly wondering if any of their scouts or bands of them had been seen," Trillium said. "I'm taking Lillium out into the wilderness for a day or so. Let her climb some trees. Get some exercise, you know. Both of us have been going stir crazy."

"I see. I haven't heard anything except those rumors. And, of course, the rumor that the Commander's secretly King Wendell's Man-Queen and that's how he keeps getting his way over in heathenland." Derian and the other customer snickered.

"Thank you, Derian, we'll be going now," Trillium said, placing the coins in Derian's hand and tugging on her sister's hand.

"Alright, you guys have a good trip. And take care of that hair, miss Beee-yooootiful!"

"Bye-byyye!" Lillium called. She smiled and tapped Trillium on the shoulder. "Sissher."

"What is it, Lillium?" Trillium asked impatiently.

"Whassa Man-queen?"

"It's…" She paused. She wasn't in the mood to explain such terms, and Lillium wouldn't understand, anyway. She wished Derian had kept his mouth shut. "It's what foreigners in Eldaborg call their king."

"King?"

"Yes. King."

"But…but…Derry said King Wendell was a king, right?"

_You couldn't just conveniently forget that bit, could you? _"It's like…" Trillium sighed, She wished Derian had just kept his mouth closed. "…it's like a king but not quite. Right below a king. Like a prince."

"Commander Ezra is Prince Man-Queen?"

"Sure." _Just shut up, please._

"And Wendell's Man-Queen too?"

"_Yes_, now stop talking about it_._"

"Oh." She toyed with her hair. "Sissher?"

"What?!" Trillium snapped.

Uh, um." Lillium lowered her head and muttered something inaudibly.

"_What_?"

"Is I please have an apple please?" she asked quickly.

"Yeah, here you go." Trillium handed one of the apples she'd just bought to Lillium. She smiled.

"You're welcome," Lillium said.

"No problem," Trillium responded absently.

"You're…" Lillium paused as she realized her mistake. "I mean thank you before. Say please, _then_ thank you, _then_ you're welcome. Right, sissher?"

"Yeah."

"Right."

"Right," Trillium said shortly.

"_What_?" The loud cry came from a woman next to them. Lillium jumped, and nearly dropped her apple. "Are you serious?"

"I am!" An older woman replied. Trillium recognized them as the two biggest town gossips. Almost everything they said was grossly exaggerated or untrue. "She hasn't announced it yet, but everyone around the castle's pretty certain a baby's on the way."

"Come on, Lillium," Trillium said.

"Babyyy?" Lillium cooed. "You have baby? I see babyyyy?"

"Not me, the Queen! Queen Ulrika's pregnant!" the younger woman cried. "They suspect the baby belongs to the jailer."

"Pregnant? That means baby, right, Sissher? _Babyyyyyy_!" Lillium squealed. "Awwwww, babyyyyy. Awwwww."

Trillium sighed. "Yes, Lillium, now—"

"See baby? Babies cute with soft skin," Lillium babbled. She petted the palm of her hand. "We see baby soon, right? Awwwwww!"

"Is this a definite thing?" Trillium asked. "Or just something some soldiers with nothing better to do cooked up?"

"No, the people around the castle have been saying she's got that look," the old woman said. "You know, puffy face, and her clothes are fitting a little tight lately—"

"Little _haaands_, and little _feeeeeet_, and then _noooooses_ and say _goo goo_ with _diapers_! Awwwww."

"Hush, will you?" Trillium snapped. Lillium pouted. "I doubt the kid belongs to Clement, if there is a kid."

"It _does! _In a few decade's time, this country will be destroyed," the old woman said angrily. "Their Majesties Jestina and Halkard ought to have taken more care in raising the future Queen and maybe she wouldn't be such a trollop!"

"Let's go, we don't need to listen to these biddies insult Her Majesty," Trillium said.

"Tuh-rollipop? The queen is…the queen is…" Lillium paused for a moment. "The queen is Ul-reek-a, not lollipop!"

"She's right. You shouldn't say such things about Her Majesty," the young woman whispered.

"Bah! Biddy indeed. I speak the truth! And to be the child of the jailer! Imagine how he'll feel, being the child of a trollop and a murderer!"

"Come on, Lillium. You don't need to be hearing this." Trillium pulled on Lillium's hand.

"Baby?"

"No, there's no baby here," Trillium sighed, exhausted.

"Queen is Ul-reeeeeka, not lollipop, right, sissher?" Lillium asked.

"Right. We don't call people trollops or lollipops."

"Is it make feelings hurt?"

"Yes. It's a bad word."

"Like fuck?" Lillium asked.

Trillium turned and glared at her. Lillium covered her mouth with her hands and mumbled an apology. "Yes, like…that word. Where did you hear that word, anyway?"

She thought about it. "No."

"No _what_?"

"No, we don' say those words." Her eyes teared up. "They _bad_ words and make feelings hurt. I don't want you be mad at me."

"No, we don't say those words, but where did you hear it?"

"Ummm. Ummmmmmmm. Uh." She kicked guiltily at the ground and licked what remained of the apple. "Aaahhhnnnaaaaahhh..."

Trillium rolled her eyes. "Whatever, nevermind. Don't say it again."

"I'm sorry," she said dejectedly. She took a bite of her apple. "Mmmmmmm, yummy yummy in my tummy! Owmmmmmmm! Yummmmmmmmmm! _Mmmmmmmmm-_MMM!" She bounced happily.

"LIL-LI-UM!" Trillium yelled. "What have I told you about those stupid noises?! Knock it off!"

Lillium pouted, but took another bite of her apple, quietly.

"You are trying my patience today! You're doing things you _know _make me mad! You'd better stop it, or I'm going to forget about taking you out and you can sit in the house and stay bored!"

"Noooooo!" Lillium whined. "Noooooo, sissher!" She bounced agitatedly. "No, want to go camping together!"

"Then _behave!_ Do you understand me? Behave!"

"Yes, sissher," Lillium said sadly.

"Now let's go, we still need to gather our tools for tonight." Trillium said. Annoyed, she walked quickly back to the house, ignoring her sister's breathless, tired pleas for her to slow down.

* * *

Trillium woke up to a tickle on her nose. Groggily, she tried to brush it away. It came back.

"_Buhfly! Buhfly!_"

Lillium's squealing jolted her awake. She opened her eyes, and to her annoyance, found a lock of long brown hair dangling in her face. _Oh, what a way to wake up._

"Sissher 'wake? Look at buhfly! Look at buhfly, sissher! Look at buhfly! Look!" Trillium looked up to see Lillium hanging over an old, gnarled tree trunk, watching a red butterfly flutter gently in the air. Black and blue spots graced the tips of the wings. Lillium stared at it, hypnotized. "Colors. _Pretty_." The butterfly fluttered away. Lillium cried out and chased after it, falling over the log with a loud squeal on top of her sister. "Eeee! Sorry, sorry!"

"You putz!" Trillium cried, throwing the girl off of her. Lillium, not caring about her angry twin, looked around frantically for the butterfly. She stood up when she spotted it sitting on a small white flower.

"Buhflyyyy!" she said, running after the butterfly and crouching down to stare at it. Sensing the girl's presence, the insect took flight again, quickly flying away into the woods. Lillium eagerly chased after it.

"Don't go too far!" Trillium cried after her. Lillium disappeared from sight. Trillium sighed and tossed her blanket aside, rubbing her eyes and looking into the sky. A few clouds drifted overhead, blocking out the sun for a few seconds before it reappeared and shone warmly on her face.

_Such a nice day out, _she thought, smiling. She stretched leisurely and yawned. She could hear her sister's delighted giggles from somewhere to her right. _I guess I have to follow her now._

She looked at the stream they had camped next to, somewhat annoyed. _I wish we could enjoy this all like normal people. _Suddenly, one of Lillium's fabric-tipped arrows flew by, not two feet from her. "_Lillium!_ Watch where you shoot!"

"Sorry, sorry!" A neighbor had given her a weak child's toy bow as a present after their parents' death. _Now I be sol-der, like my sissher, _Lillium had cried upon receiving it. Trillium had taught her to use it, in the hopes that it would improve her focus. She wasn't good at it, despite Trillium's attempts to teach her how to aim, but she enjoyed watching the arrows fly. Trillium had made her arrows tipped with little wool-filled balls to prevent injury. Another arrow hit a tree ten or so feet away and bounced harmlessly off. Lillium squealed. "_I hit the tree! _Look, sissher, I hit the tree! I hit the tree!"

"_Okay_, Lillium," Trillium snapped. "There are a thousand trees, it's not that big of an accomplishment."

"But that tree, I _wanted_ to aim that tree. Sissher proud?"

Trillium ignored her and shut her eyes again. She was so exhausted lately, having to care for Lillium constantly. _I wish our parents were still alive. _She almost missed her mercenary work. With the war going on with Eldaborg, she supposed she was better off. Entire battalions were being wiped out. _If I had died before the attack on the village, Lillium would have been dead, too._ She absently noted Lillium's squealing in the distance.

"Lillium, get back here!" Trillium called tiredly.

She heard Lillium run back to the camp and climb back on top of the log. Lillium sat down and bounced happily and started singing a song Trillium had since come to regret teaching her. "I love my sis-sher, my sis-sher loves me! And we love each other hap-pil-y!"

_I am so sick of hearing that song, _Trillium thought tiredly. She tried to ignore Lillium's bouncing and singing.

"And we love each other hap-pil-y!" After a minute or two of bouncing. There was a loud crack from the tree Lillium sat on. Trillium jumped up, startled."_Sissher! I fall!" _Trillium looked up just in time to see the log that Lillium was on land right on her head. She heard Lillium frantically screaming her name, and then the world went dark.

* * *

Lillium gasped. "Sissher? _Sissher?_" Trillium wasn't moving. Lillium slowly pushed the log off of her chest, grunting with effort. It finally fell to the side. "Sissher! Sissher, wake up!" Lillium shook Trillium's shoulders. "Sissher!"

She glanced around the forest desparately. She had to get help. _Yes, need to find help. I no good for help, need good help. Go to town! _She tried to pick up Trillium, but the unconscious woman was too heavy. _I can't leave sissher here. What if sissher dead? What if she die, like Mommy and Daddy?_

Lillium started to panic. "No! Sissher can't die! No die!" She shook Trillium's shoulders harder. "Wake uuuup!" It was no use. _If Sissher die, then I don't see her no more! _Sobbing hysterically, she took off into the woods. "Sissher can't die! _Help! Sissher hurt! Help!"_

* * *

"Lillium!"

Trillium ran through the woods, agitated and frightened and neck aching something awful. She had woken up, the beautiful day already having started to disappear. More importantly, though, Lillium had disappeared. She had left a pretty clear trail of broken sproutlings and shifted leaves, but she was still long gone. Her sister had probably thought her dead had run off to look for help.

_The dark will come soon, and the trail will be difficult to follow. _Trillium swallowed heavily. Her sister's trail was already becoming less visible in the growing darkness. She ran another few yards, her short hair whipping in the chilly wind, and called to her sister again. A growl behind her caught her attention. She spun around to find some odd creature of the night, mouth foaming and eyes burning, readying to jump.

She clumsily yanked out her sword and swung at the beast just as it leapt, slicing it in two.

_Lillium doesn't stand a chance against these things,_ Trillium thought. _I need to find her, or she's going to die._

Resuming her search, she left the dead creature behind and ran into the darkness.

* * *

"Help, my sissher gonna die! Someone, _help_!"

Lillium had been crying that same sentence over and over for hours. "Sissher can't die. Can't die. I don't see no more if she die." She _had_ to find someone who could help Trillium.

She wasn't sure how long she had been searching for help, but the sun was just starting to set. Her emotions had skewed her already poor sense of time. She ran through the woods, her reddish-brown cotton dress torn from the snagging branches and brambles that grew along the forest floor. Finally, she saw lights up ahead. She heard people talking. Laughing. Shouting.

She headed towards the sights and sounds. Light and laughing meant people. They might be able to help her find and help her sister; she raced into the camp, startling several of the men who were gathered around the roaring fire.

"Whoa!"

"Hey, watch it, ya make me drop mah mandrake."

"You'd be better off without it!"

"Sorry, sorry," Lillium said, looking at the group. They appeared to be soldiers. _Good soldiers_. "Soldiers!" She jumped up and down excitedly. "Soldiers helps me save sissher and help me! Sissher no die!" _Soldiers good, soldiers help me help sissher._

"Who is Muspel are you?" a blond man asked, looking at the girl.

"Sissher!" Lillium cried frantically. "Sissher hurt bad by log! Help!"

"Scissors?" cried the one who had yelled about mandrake. "That's a funny name. Innit, Desmond?" He grabbed the arm of the man next to him and shook it furiously.

"Stop acting like a fool, Marius," the man called Desmond snapped, trying to wrench Marius off of his arm. "I know mandrake doesn't affect you that badly, so stop pretending."

"Shut up, I can't hear her," the blond man said, who stood up to speak to her. She shrunk away; he was gigantic, and towered over her. "Now, what's wrong?"

"Sissher! Sissher hurt and losh!" she cried, looking up at him. If only she could make them understand her.

"Your sister's lost?" he asked. The light from the flames flickered against his armor and hair.

She shook her head frantically. "No, sissher hurt, and I losh my sissher and now I losh, can't find sissher, help!"

"Hey Ezra, when did you learn to speak retard?" another man asked. Desmond and a couple of other men laughed.

Marius looked confused, then said, "Hey, that's not nice."

_Ezra, Ezra…_ Lillium grinned. Ezra was the Eldaborg Man-Queen! "Man-Queen Ezra!" She cried. She jumped up and down happily. The whole group giggled quietly. She giggled with them, until she noticed that Ezra was glaring at her. "Right?"

"Excuse me?" He stood and moved closer to her.

She smiled up at him and bowed. "Missher Commander Prince Man-Queen King sir of Edelburg! Right."

Ezra stared at her for a few seconds. "Are you mocking me?" There were barely-stifled laughs from the rest of the group. A sharp glare ended the giggles.

"Man-queen of the scissors, Comman-dah!" Marius babbled and cackled insanely. Desmond covered Marius's mouth and chastised him again. Marius shoved his hand away and cackled obnoxiously in Desmond's face, and everyone started laughing again.

She beamed up at Ezra, pleased at having remembered his title. "Right. You King Wendell's man-queen, right?" She nodded. "Right. My sissher says so." Her words silenced the laughter of the men around the fire. They stared at her, aghast. Lillium shrunk away. "Um, right?"

Ezra gaped at her, wide-eyed, as if not believing what he was hearing. Finally, he narrowed his eyes. "What are you trying to say about his Majesty? _Who told you that?!_"

"Um. Uhh."

"Get out of my sight, right now." He turned away and sat back down, gazing into the fire.

Lillium cried out in anger and disbelief. "But Man-Queen sir—"

"I said get out of my sight, idiot." His voice had dropped dangerously low. "Leave, before I lose my patience."

"I not an idiot!" Lillium cried. "Sissher says I not an idiot!"

"Ezra, she's just--" The man named Ian was cut off by an angry glare from the Commander. The desperate Lillium, tears streaming from her eyes, sobs escaping her throat, ran to Desmond.

"Please! Help!"

"No can do. I'm not stupid enough to go against the commander, and what you just said was slanderous."

She ran to Marius, increasingly desperate. "Soldiers supposed to be good. I need to save sissher! Please help me help sissher please!"

"I'll help you!" said Ian, whose entire body was covered in all sorts of weaponry. Lillium smiled when he stood up. "I can't stand to see such a beautiful lady in such agony—"

"Ian," Ezra snapped, "if you so much as step out of this circle, I will consider it treason, and Crell Monferaigne's army will find your burnt head hanging from a tree. Now sit down!"

Ian gulped, hesitated, then sat back down, grumbling. Lillium pleaded with him. He shook his head. She begged several others for help, finally turning back to Ezra. He was no longer looking at her, his eyes trained on the flames.

"Stop staring at me and leave!" Ezra growled. The small fire grew dangerously large. Lillium screamed. Ezra cringed, and she screamed again. He snarled and stood up and approached her. "Enough of that noise. Get out of here now or I'll kill you."

"Oh, Ezra, calm down," Marius snapped, suddenly seeming sober.

"You be quiet!"

"Good Lord of Muspelheim, I can't watch this." Marius stood and wandered into the woods, talking long drags on his pipe and singing loudly.

"Nooooo! Please, help, help me, Man-Queen…" Lillium pleaded once more. "Can't leave sissher—"

He smacked her across the face, and she cried out, surprised. "You've said that phrase one too many times, you little bitch. I suppose you want to die."

His large hand grasped her shoulder; her dress burned and smoldered where he touched her. She screamed again and shook her head. No, she didn't want to die. Her parents had died and now she couldn't see them anymore; she wouldn't be able to see Trillium, either. "Noooo, _don't_ wanna die."

"Oh, Ezra, _don't_, she didn't mean any harm—" Desmond said softly.

"Be quiet!" Ezra snapped. Desmond sighed and covered his eyes. Ezra threw her to the ground and picked up an axe that was leaning against a tree, then started toward Lillium.

"No, no," Lillium pleaded; she scrambled along the ground in panic and screamed. "Lemme go! Lemme gooo!I want sissher…I want her help me! Help me, sissher!"

"_Shut up about your sister!_" he roared. He raised the axe over his head and brought it down on her head, and after a brief burst of light, she saw no more.

* * *

Trillium had been running for nearly three hours. She had presumed that Lillium had probably taken a straight path through the forest; the occasional broken branch or sapling caught by the moonlight proved her right.

"Lillium! _Lillium!"_ Trillium cupped her hands over her mouth and went to yell again, but paused. "Oh, thank the Goddess!" She saw a campfire glowing beyond the trees. She ran towards the light. She entered the clearing, and found two men sitting by the campfire. "Please! You need to help me! Did my sister come through here? I can't find—" her voice caught. The armor they wore, and the red, blue and gold beads they wore…those were Eldaborg's colors. She took a couple of steps back.

"Oh, not again…" one of them muttered, putting his face in his hands. He was covered in weaponry, half of which a kid his age probably had no clue how to use.

"I suggest you leave," the man next to him said. "I won't hurt you, but others will if they see you."

She couldn't leave yet. She needed to know if they'd seen her. "Have you seen her? Have you…seen…" she noticed something in the flames, splintered and blackened. A human skeleton. _Oh Goddess, what savages, _she thought frantically. It couldn't be…it just _couldn't_ be…

"I think that's her," The second man pointed into the flames, at the skeleton.

"N…no. It can't be," Trillium argued. "Have you seen her? Honestly?"

"Did she have long hair? Talk like a child?"

"Yes! She's been—"

The walking armory gestured at the flames. Trillium's heart sank. "You must be the 'sissher' she was talking about. She came here looking for help, but…well, she called the Commander a man-queen. _Five times. _I counted. You know what that means, right?"

"She even spouted something about him being the _King's _man-queen," the other said. "That's what made him so mad, I think, not that it takes much. The king only just turned fifteen and is unwed, you don't spread rumors like that. Not only is it slanderous, but the Commander would be in pretty deep shit if a rumor spread in Eldaborg and people started believing it."

"Oh, Goddess, no. No, she didn't," Trillium cried, horrified. Of all the people she could have run into, why did it have to be Eldaborg and their demonic commander? If that was the case, then the skull in the flames was, without a doubt…

_This is my fault. This is my fault, I told her it meant something perfectly innocent._

"If it helps, her death was quick," the man said.

"I tried to help her, but…well, I tried. She was really pretty. You're certainly pretty, too." The boy smiled and flipped his hair.

"Knock it off, dumbshit Ian, her sister just died!" the other man snapped, smacking at him. Ian said something angrily. The two got into a fight, but Trillium didn't care. She fell to her knees, staring into the crackling flames, watching them dance in and out of her dead sister's eye sockets, remembering the promise she'd made to Lillium.

"_Everything's going to be okay, that's a promise…"_

She thought back on that promise she had made to her sister, now broken; she thought of Lillium's happy voice, singing that song that Trillium had come to hate, and she began to cry. "Goddess, no. No…" her eyes turned toward the two men, who were wrestling angrily on the ground. They stopped and looked at her as she approached them. "How could you let him do this? How _could_ you? I promised her…You _savages_!" she stood up, drawing her sword. They jumped up and held up their hands. "You cowardly excuses for human beings! She was helpless! How could you let him kill her?!"

"H-hey, man…er, girl…" Ian cried, waving his hands frantically. "We couldn't stop him!"

"Why?" she demanded. They didn't answer. She shook the man called Ian by the shoulders. "Why couldn't you, you cowards?!" she screamed, trying to get an answer. "Tell me where he is! I'll find him and cut out his—" She stopped. They weren't looking at her anymore, but at something behind her. She spun around, and stared in horror at the blond man behind her as he elbowed her in the chest, hard; she dropped her sword, and he grabbed her by the hair and lifted her off the ground, so that they were face to face.

"Cut out his what?" he mocked. Trillium just sputtered and wheezed incoherently. He narrowed his eyes, and she smelled burning hair—_her _hair, she realized. She panicked and weakly tried to punch him, and he grabbed her arms instead. Her shirt smoldered where he touched it. She kicked at him, but he pinned her down, and she was rendered completely immobile. She shut her eyes and turned away, remembering the Duchess's story. "You think you can just run into our camp and start threatening me? I am sick of you and your sister. You can join her now." He lifted her off the ground and tossed her into the fire. She screeched and tried to scramble out of it, but a heavy boot held her in place, keeping her from escaping…

* * *

After an agonizing minute, the pain was gone. The heat faded, and the cool night air brushed against the sisters' skin. Lillium and Trillium, united in death, stood before the goddess, both of them whole once again.

Lillium played with her hair, felt her face, and played with her hair some more, then smiled. She looked at Aelia, and her smile grew wider.

"You a Goddess?" asked Lillium.

Aelia, never having been called a Goddess before, smiled. "I suppose I am, sort of."

"Goddess!" Lillium chirped. "Goddess! You help me save my sissher!"

Trillium smiled sadly. "Lillium, we're dead. Both of us."

Lillium looked over her shoulder at the sound of Trillium's voice, and, seeing her sister behind her, squealed excitedly. "Sissher! Man-Queen said I was gonna die, but I not died because sissher here!"

"No, Lillium, both of us died."

"We died?"

"Yes."

She squealed again. "Then we see Mommy and Daddy! Mommy and Daddy died, too!_ Mommy and Daddy!_" She hopped excitedly over to Aelia. "I miss Mommy and Daddy. I see them?"

"I don't think we're going to see them. Not right now. Maybe later," Trillium said. She turned toward Aelia. "May I have your name?"

"My name is Aelia."

"The Einherjar?" Trillium asked.

"The same," the Valkyrie replied. "But the Allmother has selected me as a replacement Valkyrie of sorts, and I've selected you--both of you--to join me."

"A Valkyrie?" Trillium gasped. "But…but Ragnarok already happened, didn't it? Don't take me wrong, we are honored, but I thought there would be no more use for warriors in Asgard…"

Aelia smiled. "I don't know all the details, but the short version is, the goddess Hel has formed an army and is preparing to take Asgard. We need warriors to help us in this battle."

"I see," Trillium said, shaking her brown locks out of her face. "And you've chosen us…" she smiled at her sister. "…both of us."

Lillium smiled. "I a hero! Go to Valla with sissher together!" She laughed happily and jumped up and down. Trillium laughed.

Aelia chuckled. "I couldn't separate you two, not after…" she cringed, and turned away from the two. "Not after that irrational act of cruelty."

"Thank you," Trillium said, tears building in her eyes. "We're so close. I've been caring for her, since our parents…" She looked at Lillium, who appeared to be thinking hard about something. "They were killed by those monsters."

"Ezra," Lillium said. "Man-Queen of Edelburg. He hurt me. Hurt sissher, too?"

"Lillium," Trillium said. "We don't call people Man-Queen. It's not a nice word."

"But you said _king_," Lillium protested.

"I…" She paused and lowered her head. "I was lying."

Lillium gasped. "You _liiieeed?_ Lying is _baaaaaad_. You said so!"

"I know. Oh, do I know." Trillium buried her face in her hands.

"This is not your fault," Aelia said, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "Don't blame yourself for this. You only did the best you could."

Trillium sighed. "Lillium, we don't call people man-queen. It's a bad thing to say."

"Like fuck," Lillium said matter-of-factly.

Trillium smirked. "Don't say those words anymore."

"Okay." She toyed with her hair and smiled.

"I assure you, that man will receive due punishment for his sins in time." They stood, invisible to mortal eyes, outside of the camp. Several men had, as their commander had said, hung the skulls of the twins in the trees. Ezra, a knife in his hand, looked at the two skulls impassively.

"Wha's those?" Lillium asked, pointing to the skulls. "Those mean dying, right?"

"Yes."

"Dying is bad, right?"

"Maybe not," Trillium said.

Ezra, oblivious to the two spirits and the Valkyrie, raised the knife to the tree as if to carve something into it. He hesitated, then lowered the blade. He turned and walked away.

Aelia gripped her spear tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"He will not go unpunished. I swear it on my Dragonian blood," Aelia promised the two. She drew the glowing orbs of their souls into her own, and unfolding her leathery wings, took flight once again. The skulls and the camp became tiny, then disappeared beneath the trees as she rose into the air. She was about to concentrate, in search of some basic foes to train them, when Freya's voice burst into her head.

_Aelia! Can you hear me?!_

_Yes. Is something wrong? _Aelia asked.

_Yes! Hel's forces are gathering around the Forest of Spirits. We think they mean to attack the World Tree, possibly Bifrost. How many Einherjar have you collected?_

_I have three right now._

_Have you trained them at all?_

_I've not been able to train them, I've been down here for all of a day and a half,_ Aelia said, a little peeved.

_Aelia, now is not the time to be enemies. Are your Einherjar at least fairly strong?_

_Two of them are, one is…not so much, but I'm sure she'll be okay, _Aelia replied.

_Good. Meet me in the Elves' village. We'll have the elves and several gods helping us, but we need all the help we can get. They must not reach the Tree! You will be towards the front lines. Get here as soon as possible!_

Aelia cringed. She'd been hoping to take the Einherjar to a nearby forest, giving them time to practice on weak undead animals before bringing them into what sounded like a big battle. It looked like that wasn't going to happen.

She took off towards the Forest of Spirits, beating her wings as fast as she could.


	4. Trouble in the Forest of Spirits

We are so sorry this took so long. D: It is SKILLED at being evil. Have no fear, we shall conquer the beast and hopefully have the other half up in around a month. Don't quote us on that, though. Thanks for the patience! :D

* * *

Aelia paused over the Forest of Spirits. Even from up in the air, she could see flashes of magic lighting up the trees. Small figures ran to and fro beneath the canopy. She focused on the area, hoping to get an idea of what they were going to be up against. _I hope nothing too big. I wish I could have trained them._

Lenneth's voice broke into her mind. _Aelia, I am going to give you a weapon for Lillium. It is not the strongest, but it is divine and will not break. It will have to do for now until another can be made. _

Aelia held her hands out, and felt the bow and quiver materialize in them. _Thank you. _

_What you will be fighting below is not more than I believe you can handle. If you need help, I will send it. Do not wait any longer. Go!_

Aelia nodded and descended into the chaotic village. Elven soldiers ran around, trying to get children and the elderly into safe places before the real battle began. Hordes of small demons flew around, stabbing and casting spells at the soldiers. One came towards her, and she drew her spear and pierced the creature on it. It dissolved into mist.

"Aelia!" She saw Freya flying around the village shooting ether at demons as she went. "Where are your Einherjar? Bring them out!"

Aelia went to do so, then realized she didn't know how. "How do I—"

Freya snorted. "Any _goddess _ought to find it a simple task." She blasted another demon before it could attack her.

Aelia bristled. "Hey, if you don't want my help, I'll just go train my Einherjar elsewhere and leave you to handle this on your own." Aelia went to take to the sky.

"Mind your words, human."

"You mean Valkyrie, chosen by the Allmother_._"

"Be silent! Just reach inside of your soul and call them forth," Freya said snippily. "It is not a difficult thing." Aelia muttered to herself and attempted to do so, trying to speak to Abijal.

_Abijal, you there? Wake up! _There was no response. She tried to reach deeper. _Hello? Can you hear me? _No response. She concentrated harder. _Abijal, Lillium, Trillium! Can you hear me?_

_Wha—what? Aelia? What is it? _

_Is it time to battle? Finally?_

_I in Valla now?_

_Yes, it's time for battle! Let's go!_

She felt their souls stir inside of her. It was an unsettling feeling, as though mice were crawling around in her very being. She held her hand over her heart and tried to pull them out. She stopped with a small cry; it was like someone was pulling at her insides. She tried one more time, ignoring the unsettling sensation, and succeeded. She held them out and let them re-form on the ground. Abijal looked at the two girls, especially Lillium, somewhat skeptically.

"Who're they?"

"I Lil," Lillium said, pointing to herself. "Tha's my sissher, Trill. I love my sissher."

Abijal snorted. "You gave _me _a hard time, and then recruited Rapunzel there? Oh right, she has a cooter."

"She is kindhearted and willing to help, unlike you seem to be," Aelia snapped.

"She's a fucking _retard!_"

"Mean word!" Lillium cried.

"Hey!" Trillium raised her fist threateningly as Lillium whimpered. "You watch your mouth!" Abijal drew his sword with an angry growl.

"Knock it off, both of you!" Aelia cried. "We need to do this together! Abijal, shut up. Trillium, don't be so quick to raise your hand against your comrades."

"Yes, ma'am," they replied simultaneously.

"Lillium, I have something for you." Aelia pulled the new bow off her back. Lillium gasped. "This is a real bow, not like the one you've been using."

Lillium took it and smiled. "Wooow," she breathed. "Pretty!" It was pretty, Aelia agreed silently.

"And to go with that…" Aelia removed the quiver from her side and wrapped it over Lillium's shoulder. "These are real arrows, with sharp points. This is a weapon, not a toy, so you need to be careful with it."

"I will be, Ally-Goddess!"

Aelia smiled at the nickname. A group of Will-o-wisps had hovered into the area while they spoke and were shooting lightning at the elven soldiers. They fired arrows in return. The wisps were knocked back momentarily. "You see how the elves do it, Lillium?" Aelia asked.

Lillium gasped. "They pretty!" she cried. She ran toward the battle.

"Lillium, wait, there's a battle going on!" Aelia cried. She thought the girl was talking about the elves, until she reached her hand out to try and touch one of the wisps near her. "_No!_" Aelia shouted. She tried to stop her, but she was too slow. Lillium touched it, and was thrown backwards by a jolt of electricity. Aelia winced. Trillium rushed to her side, trying to calm her bawling twin, and smoothing her now-frizzed hair. Abijal tried not to laugh, but failed when Trillium shot a none-too-menacing glare his way.

"Abijal, watch it!" Aelia screamed. He twisted around and drew his sword. He blocked an attack from a black harpy. He swung at it. One of its legs came off and landed on the ground in front of Abijal. It screamed and dived at him, aiming its remaining talons at his face.

An arrow flew from behind Aelia and sunk into the harpy's forehead. The creature fell to the ground.

"Nice shot, Lil—" Aelia fell silent when she saw it was an elven soldier, and that her Einherjar was still crying helplessly. She sighed, then spun around and pierced a Hel-servant with her spear before it could petrify her. She leapt aside as stinking juices flowed from the giant eye. Two more came at her, and she impaled them while trying to keep an eye on Lillium. She groaned; Abijal had left the battle to yell at Lillium. Lillium, frightened of the huge man, had stood up and backed away, but Trillium had gotten into an argument with him.

"She's can't help it! Leave her alone!"

"This is a _battlefield, _you soft-hearted bint! Fight or die!"

"You cold bastard, _my sister is handicapped!_"

"THEN GET HER OFF THE FIELD! _AAAEEELIAAA!_"

As the two argued, and Aelia struggled with a fourth Hel-servant, Lillium tried to make peace between the two. She did a funny little dance to try and make them laugh; it was useless. Aelia finally slew the Hel-servant, and was about to step between them when Freya materialized in front of them. The argument ceased immediately.

"Are you not going to be heroes of Asgard?" Freya roared. "Heroes do not bicker over trivial matters during a battle! Aelia, get control over these fools!"

"I'll do that as soon as we stop being attacked!" Aelia snapped.

Lillium was crying again. An imp attacked her, and she screamed, flailing her bow at it madly. Both Abijal and Trillium jumped at the imp and tried to kill it. They missed the imp completely; their blades clashed and bounced off of each other. Freya shook her head and glared at Aelia. "You ought to find more skilled Einherjar. You are selecting warriors for the gods, not any average rabble you can find!" Before Aelia could reply, she disappeared. Aelia grumbled.

"Who the fuck is she calling 'average rabble'?" Abijal snapped. The imp yanked on his hair and let out a high-pitched titter, and Abijal snarled and stabbed at the imp. The tiny nuisance was cut in two. "Teach you to mock _me,_ pathetic creature." He stomped on the imp's body, splattering it on the ground. Trillium winced, then swung her blade around as three more imps buzzed around them. Lillium had pulled out an arrow and tried to aim at them. She waved her bow frantically back and forth, not sure which way to shoot. One of the imps flew at her face and became tangled in her hair. Lillium squealed, releasing her arrow as she tried to fight it off. The arrow landed in the shoulder of a nearby elven soldier.

"Lillium!" Aelia screamed. She swiped her spear at the imp and knocked it away from Lillium. She removed a small part of Lillium's hair with it.

"Hair! Mah hair!"

"_Forget about your hair, look what you just did!" _Aelia screamed, pointing to the elven soldier, who was being led off the field by her friends. "You need to be more careful with your bow! It's not a toy, it's a weapon! It can killpeople!"

Lillium had fallen to her knees and wrapped her arms around Aelia's legs. "Nooooooo, I sorry!" she bawled. "Sorry sorry _sorry!_ Nooooo!"

Aelia took a slow, deep breath. "Alright. It's your first real battle, and you're not used to a bow that strong, so I can understand, but you need to learn to keep your focus!" Aelia told her, pulling her off of her legs. "She's alive, at least your mistake wasn't lethal."

"No, I hurt the elf. I shupid and want to leave."

Trillium had noticed her sister's crying, and come over to them. "Lillium, you are not stupid!And don't just quit! You'll never learn that way!"

"_Stop wasting your time over there and help me kill shit!_" Abijal screamed.

"Go help him, I'll handle this," Aelia ordered Trillium. She nodded and left. "Lillium," Aelia said patiently, helping her stand. "Perhaps you should aim for bigger targets until you get better at this, so you don't hit anyone else. How about that one, over there?" She pointed at a Hel-servant that was terrorizing a young elven mage.

"Scary!" Lillium cried. She whined. "Scary eye with snakes!"

"Don't think of it as scary," Aelia replied. "Now try shooting at it."

Lillium aimed her bow, and fired the arrow. The arrow flew and hit one of the writhing snakes atop its head. It screamed angrily and turned around to glare at her. Lillium shrieked, pulling out another arrow.

"Keep your focus!" Aelia ordered. "If you panic, you won't fire accurately!"

Lillium took a deep breath and fired. She hit the advancing Hel-servant in its eye. It stopped and shook wildly in an attempt to dislodge the arrow.

"Good shot!" Aelia praised. Lillium smiled proudly, pulling out another arrow and firing, landing another shot in the eye. The young mage cast a spell, and the demon was frozen solid.

Lillium jumped up and down wildly. "I helped! I helped!" The elf smiled at her and ran away. Lillium waved at her happily. "Look, sissher, I helped!"

"Good work, Lillium!" Trillium congratulated tiredly, wiping away the imp blood that covered her face. Abijal was battling with two demon servants. He tried to block their spinning spears while Trillium attacked them from behind. They were taken by surprise, and the two demons soon fell to her Einherjar's blades.

Aelia nodded with approval. "Go retrieve your arrows," she said, then spun around when she heard something behind her. She and jabbed at a lesser demon that had been about to attack her. It dodged her blow, and swung at her again. It her in the chest and knocked her down. An arrow whizzed mere centimeters by its head. The demon looked up, as another arrow flew at it and landed in its leg. It jerked, not vocalizing its pain. An elven soldier came out of nowhere and cut the demon in half.

"I helped again!" Aelia heard Lillium cry.

Several more Will o' the wisps had joined in the fray. Three of them descended upon Abijal and Trillium, firing lightning at them. Trillium tried to slice at them, but they dodged her blows. Lillium fired an arrow at another, but the wisp disintegrated it, rendering it harmless.

Trillium finally managed to sink her blade into one of them. It began to glow a bright, angry red. She pulled it out and backed away cautiously.

"Trillium, it's gonna blow, _move!" _Aelia cried, running away from her own battle and trying to shove her Einherjar away from the wisp. It exploded, sending Aelia, Abijal, and Trillium flying into the air, and knocking over a few elven soldiers who had been around them. Abijal coughed smoke and brushed off his armor, standing up slowly. Trillium didn't move.

"Sissher? Sissher?" Lillium cried, rushing to her sister's side. The two remaining wisps attacked Abijal, and he tried unsuccessfully to fight them off. Aelia joined him in trying to fight them. She managed to slice into one, and, as it began to burn red, she sliced at it again, killing it. As it died, five more wisps replaced it, and a Hel-servant rose out of the ground.

_This is not going well at all,_ Aelia thought angrily. _We weren't ready for this, by any means. Lenneth! _She called. _What do I do? Help us!_

Aelia jabbed her spear into the Hel-servant's eye, jumping as the fluids gushed out of the wound. Two of the six wisps attacked her, firing lightning at her. She jolted from the electricity. She stabbed at one, burying her spear into its center. Several elven soldiers had come to their aid, taking out two more wisps. Lillium continued to tend to Trillium.

She heard a voice chanting over the noise of the battle.

"_Ye of detestable name and virtue, false apostle, thou are bayed back to the abyss!"_

_Oh Great Goddess, let that be an ally, _Aelia thought as the wisp sent jolts of electricity into her body.

"_SERAPHIC LAW!"_

The beam of magic flew through the air and burned through the Will o' the wisps and several other surrounding demons; they disintegrated into nothing.

"Ha. Perhaps Lenneth should have chosen me for this job."

Aelia turned around to face the voice. "Mystina!"

"The one and only," Mystina said with a smirk. "Lenneth told me you asked for help. _She_ didn't choose such a pathetic bunch of warriors as you did. Where are your standards?"

"Fuck off, bitch!" Abijal yelled, overhearing the conversation. "You have no place here!"

"I just saved your sorry ass, in case you've forgotten so easily," Mystina snapped. "Perhaps next time I'll leave you to die."

"Mystina, I appreciate your help," Aelia said quickly, before Abijal could respond. "We were overwhelmed. I haven't had time to train them properly."

"Hmph. At least someone shows some gratitude—_sacred javelin!_" she cried suddenly, and aimed her staff at something behind Abijal. Blades of energy stabbed at a lesser demon before it could attack him.

"Magic is the most cowardly of the fighting arts!" Abijal said angrily. "You stand behind the brave warriors and wave your staffs around as if they were oversized cocks."

"Me, get covered in blood and guts? When I know spells and have skills that can kill enemies from a distance in an instant?" Mystina replied coolly. "Never. Also, I just saved your ass. _Again._"

"I could have—"

"Shut up, Abijal," Aelia snapped. Abijal snorted, and ran back into the battle.

"Anyway," Mystina said, "Lenneth's orders were for me to remain here with you. She says you need a mage."

"We don't need some cock-waving pussy's help!" Abijal shouted back at them.

"Does that mean I can get rid of you?" Aelia snapped. Abijal snorted and muttered something about man-haters. "And thank you," Aelia said to Mystina. "We would appreciate your help."

Mystina laughed. "I'm amazed that you even picked him up."

"Lenneth guided me to him," Aelia told her while fighting off some imps that were clawing at her face.

"He must have some virtue, then."

Aelia thought back on what she'd seen of his memories as she fought. _I suppose he does. I'm kind of stuck with him now, I may as well learn to tolerate the bullshit that I know he's going to start._ "Maybe." She noticed Lillium on her own, battling with a Hel-Servant. Aelia watched her closely.

"_Mystic cross!_" Mystina cried, rolling her eyes as Abijal started screaming again. "Gratitude isn't one of them."

"He's a proud, caustic bastard and I'm sure I'll hate him," Aelia replied. "And I'm sure there will be dick-measuring contests and jokes about breasts every two minutes."

"Ally-Goddess!" Lillium cried. "I killed a monster! I killed a big snake eye thingy _all by myself!_ I did it _by myself!_ Proud of meee?" Sure enough, the Hel-Servant that she'd been fighting lay dead on the ground, pierced in various odd places by twenty or so arrows. Mystina clapped, somewhat sarcastically.

Aelia smirked. "Good work, Lillium! Keep it up!" Louder, she added, "Keep it up and you'll be a better warrior than Abijal!"

"_Like fuck she will!_" Abijal protested. Aelia snickered.

Lillium bounced happily. "I be a warrior and go to Valla! Valla, Valla, Valla…" She ran, encouraged, back into battle.

"Go and retrieve your arrows!" Aelia reminded her. She stopped, and ran back to the dead Hel-Servant to do so. Several harpies tried to strike Aelia from behind, but she ducked underneath them and impaled one on her spear. Mystina kept some of the beasts at bay and prevented them from attacking the already-swamped Einherjar.

"_Stop trying to fucking help me!_" Aelia heard Abijal screech. "I can deal with these fuckers on my own! _I don't need pussy magic help!_"

Mystina huffed and turned away from him. "As you wish, oh paragon of masculinity."

"_Thank _you!" he snapped, right before a demon smashed into his back and knocked him to the ground.

Nearby, Trillium had woken up and was trying to remove an overjoyed Lillium from her neck. Trillium pulled her off and stood, trying to catch her balance. Lillium helped her. Several imps flew at the two sisters and buzzed around their heads, tittering and poking at them with their little tridents.

Suddenly, the ground shook with the force of an explosion. Aelia jerked her head towards the noise and saw chunks of wood and earth thrown into the air as a huge, white-scaled serpent thrust its head over the tree line. The imps and other demons stopped attacking, and retreated into the woods.

Lillium whimpered. "Wha dat?"

"I don't know," Trillium replied. "It looks like some sort of snake..."

"It's a _dragon_," Abijal said, grinning, as he cut through a lesser demon who was attempting to run away.

"He's right," Aelia said. She watched the dragon disappear from view and felt the ground rattle again. "I really wish we'd had time to train first," she sighed.

Mystina cleared her throat. "Um, remember me? Former Einherjar of the Allmother? I certainly don't need training."

Abijal snorted. "I don't need training, either: I've been a warrior for twenty fucking years now! I've killed _two-hundred_ dragons and—"

"And look what one of them did to you!" Aelia snapped. She looked over at Lillium and Trillium. Lillium was staring wide-eyed at the forest, her bow held tightly. A bird flew out at her and Lillium screamed. Trillium tried to cover her mouth.

Abijal whirled around and slapped Lillium. "_Shut up! Do you WANT us all to die?_"

Trillium let go of her screeching twin and drew her sword, swinging it at Abijal. Abijal blocked her attack and smacked her with the flat of his blade. She was knocked to the ground.

"HEY!" Aelia snapped. Abijal looked over his shoulder.

"She attacked me first," he said.

"You hit Lillium. That was uncalled for. Trillium?" She helped Trillium up. "Trillium, we do _not _attack each other like that! We are _allies!_"

"But he…he…"

"Yes, he hit Lillium. But—"

The air rippled and Aelia suppressed a groan.

"Is this how you command your einherjar: by letting them fight amongst themselves while Hel's creatures threaten the very World Tree itself?" Freya asked. "That beast is Grafvollud, son of Nidhogg. He must not be allowed to reach Yggdrasil!"

Aelia narrowed her eyes. "If you're so disappointed in me, then why are you trusting me with this battle?"

"Because the forces led by Arngrim and Kashell are occupied with Ofnir and Grabak, and Lawfer is leading the elven evacuees to safety," Freya said haughtily. With that, she disappeared.

"Was that... Freya?" Trillium asked. "I always thought she would be less..."

"Less of a sand-filled cunt?" Abijal supplied.

"Abijal-" Aelia began, then shrugged. "She might still be around."

There was a loud rour behind them. Aelia spun around to see Grafvollud knock a tree aside with a swing of his head. Lillium took off running in the opposite direction and Trillium made a grab for her hair before running after her sister. The dragon lunged forward.

"Sacred javelin!" Mystina shouted as Abijal ran towards the dragon. Grafvollud grunted when the spells pierced his skin, tearing off scales and revealing raw, maggot-riddled skin. Abijal slashed at the dragon's underbelly, his heavy blade making deep cuts in the thick scales.

"The fuck? There's no blood," he muttered, narrowly dodging the dragon's thrashing coils. Grafvollud stopped thrashing in pain, then swung his head around to face Abijal, his jaws open wide. Abijal swore, then ran back towards Aelia and Mystina. "_Run_!"

"Shit, he's right," Aelia sighed. She turned to Mystina. "Into the woods! Go, hurry it up!"

They reached the trees just as Grafvollud exhaled a thick, yellowish fog. The noxious vapor spread along the groud in a choking mist that stank of decay. Aelia stopped, coughing, and looked around at her surroundings through watering eyes. She saw Trillium and Lillium nearby.

"Ally-goddess!" Lillium said excitedly, then choked. She pulled the collar of her dress up over her nose. "Eeeughhh," she whined. "Ewww!"

"Just breathe through your mouth," Aelia told her. "I don't think it's poisonous."

"Ugh, it smells worse than Lezard's little experiments," Mystina said. She pinched her nose shut and shot a glare in Abijal's direction. "Thanks for pissing him off. Really," she muttered nasally before her attention turned to Aelia. "So what are we dealing with here? An undead?"

"We're dealing with a _dragon_," Abijal answered with a roll of his eye.

"I wasn't talking to _you_," Mystina snapped back.

Aelia closed her eyes and tried to sense Grafvollud's mind. She felt an ache behind her eyes and her head was suddenly filled with a low, droning sound that seemed to dull all thought. Beneath that, she was aware of a dizzying array of scents and strange sensations. The footsteps of the fleeing monsters became miniscule vibrations against her belly and she could smell the scents of treesap and living bodies. She scratched at her skin, trying to dispel the phantom sensation of burrowing maggots, then opened her eyes. "He's not undead, but I don't think he's completely alive either," she said. "I think this is his first time above-ground. He seems confused. And stupid."

"What should we do? I've never fought a dragon before," Trillium asked Aelia.

"Abijal has," Aelia answered. "Why don't you ask him?"

Trillium grimaced. "Do I have to?" she whispered.

Aelia pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just ask him," she said.

Trillium reluctantly walked over to Abijal, who was watching the dragon through the trees. She glanced back at Aelia, then sighed. "You heard Aelia," she muttered.

"You mean she actually wants an inferior male like myself to educate one of her vagtastic female warriors?" Abijal said with mock wonder. "Shit, I wish Nyoka could see this!"

"Forget it," Trillium said. "I'll just figure it out myself." She started towards the clearing and barely suppressed a yelp when Abijal grabbed her shoulder and pulled her backwards.

"Not so fucking fast," he said. "If you want to be a dumbfuck and get yourself killed, go ahead and fight him yourself and _hope _you'll figure out how to kill the fucker without dying first. I've led godshowever many soldiers on dragon hunts and there's always some moron who thinks he's some fucking prodigy. Want to know what happens to them?"

"They end up looking like you?" Trillium narrowed her eyes.

"Just shut the fuck up and listen to me," Abijal snapped back. "Fighting a dragon takes _skill. _You can't just run up to it, waving your sword around like a dick. Speaking of dick-waving-" He motioned Mystina over. "You too, mage-pussy! Maybe you can learn something useful!"

Mystina said something under her breath, but joined them anyway. Aelia walked over to the rest of them, Lillium following behind her. At least, Aelia noted, she no longer had her dress pulled over her nose.

"Not your type, is he?" Mystina asked Aelia with a smirk. She nodded towards the clearing to clarify who she was referring to. Grafvollud was coiled in the clearing, tasting the air with disgusting, moist slurps. "Still, you have to admit that a tongue like that is... intruiging."

Aelia frowned, but her reply was cut off when Grafvollud suddenly bent its head downward and dove back into the ground. Trillium watched it carefully and backed away. "Did it retreat?"

"No," Abijal snapped. "If you knew anything about fucking dragons, you'd know they don't fucking retreat that quickly."

Mystina smirked. "I think your Valkyrie could tell you a thing or two about fucking dragons—"

Aelia smacked her on the back of the head when Abijal started laughing. "Shut up!" she hissed. "I need them to respect me!"

Mystina smacked her back. "Hitting your allies sets a bad example."

Aelia ignored her and tried to sense where Grafvollud was. He was moving beneath the ground, directly below them. She felt dirt and rocks pushing against her face as the dragon burrowed through the soil. "He's right below us," Aelia said. "Stay still and don't talk. I'm going to try something."

"I'm not going to stand here like a pussy and—"

"Shut _up,_ Abijal!" Aelia hissed. She felt Grafvollud's head jerk toward where Abijal was standing, and he sped upward through the earth. Aelia leapt at him and knocked Abijal out of the way as his head broke the surface and his jaws closed around air. Aelia jumped to her feet and raised her spear, but Grafvollud was already burrowing back underground. She spun around and glared at Abijal. "Now that you've seen _why _I told you to stand still and shut up, will you listen to me?"

"I could have taken him on! I'm a _dragon hunter!_"

"_Shut up and stay put!"_ Aelia ordered quietly.

Abijal rolled his eye, but he stood slowly and didn't move. Aelia felt for Grafvollud again; he was already back underneath them, head moving this way and that, feeling for any movement. She was suddenly aware of other vibrations, too small for anyone not built to pick them up to sense, through the earth. _He's reacting to them. It's almost as if…_ She realized he was also picking up images that he couldn't possibly be seeing from underground. Images of elves waving their weapons and staffs, images of trees, the bright sun in the sky. _Maybe he's remembering._

Then she remembered Grafvollud had carved runes where his eyes should have been.

Aelia glanced at Mystina. "There are others."

"What?" Mystina asked.

"There are others. Other dragons like this. I can feel him communicating with them. They're doing so through small vibrations and some telepathy. I don't know if they're coordinating an attack, but not all of them are blind."

"So what do we do?" Mystina asked.

"What can we do?" Aelia asked back. "They're already beginning to attack, so everyone knows they're here. All we can do is keep fighting, and hope a sighted one doesn't make it over here to help him out."


End file.
